The Cascade Lady Champions overcame conceding an early second half goal to beat the visiting Community Viqueens, 3-1, in the District 9-A semifinal to punch their ticket to the Region 5-A tournament.

Audrina Bearden got on the scoresheet for the Viqueens three minutes into the second half before Kyla Pulley, Kaylee Martin, and Olivia Winnett all found the back of the net for the Lady Champs.

After sweeping the regular season series against Community, Cascade Head Coach Wendy Williams knew just how difficult it would be to beat their cross-county rival for a third time. 

“The fact that we play all these teams twice and then potentially a third time is really difficult because it’s hard to surprise them, it’s hard to come out with something new,” Williams explained. “We know each other, we know how everybody moves, so it’s hard, and they were here for the win too. They didn’t make it easy on us, it was a tough game.”

Lexi Comstock (8) beats Abigail Bearden (9) to the ball on Tuesday.

The first half seemed to follow that exact script. Cascade had numerous golden opportunities to grab an early goal to jump out in front starting with Lexi Comstock finding herself one-on-one with Viqueens’ keeper Carlie Blanton in the 7th minute before her chip soared just over the crossbar. Winnett followed that chance up one minute later with a shot that just crept over the bar as well, and then 60 seconds later Martin fired her attempt into the side netting. 

That flurry seemed to wake up Community, and the Viqueens began to grow into the game from that moment on, battling for possession in the midfield and increasing their general aggressiveness.

Ella McGeary (11) and Stevie Dickenson (1) battle for the ball.

Community’s challenges and tackles began to get increasingly more snappy and aggressive, frustrating the Lady Champs as they were unable to create any clear cut opportunities on goal for the good portion of a half-hour. With Cascade’s Sophie Ray back at her normal position in the midfield for this game after starting in goal a week ago, the battles in the middle third were ramped up a few notches.

“She’s just everywhere,” said Williams about Sophie Ray, “She sets the tone, all the time, in the midfield. She’s never slacking, she’s always moving, she’s 110% all the time, and it makes a big difference for our team.”

In the 16th minute, Bearden found herself in front of goal with a glorious opportunity to poach a goal, but her attempt ended up scurrying wide of the post. For the next 20-ish minutes, the possession was tightly contested in the middle third of the pitch before Bearden found herself slipping behind the Cascade backline for a one-on-one chance with goalkeeper Irais Rojas until Ella Thompson made an incredible recovery to win the ball just outside of the box to save a goal. 

Right on the stroke of halftime in the 40th minute, Claire Smithson fired a shot low and hard across the face of goal from the left side of the box that seemed certain to find the back of the net until Blanton made a miraculous save down to her left that ensured her team went into halftime level at 0-0.

Coming out for the second half, it felt like the Lady Champs were more likely to find a goal based on how the first 40 minutes played out, but that was not to be. Instead, it was Bearden’s left-footed chip shot attempt from the edge of the box that seemed to float over Rojas’ outstretched arms and kiss the underside of the crossbar to nestle in the back of the net in the 43rd minute to give the Viqueens the 1-0 lead. 

In response, the Lady Champions found themselves an equalizer just one minute later in the 44th minute after a bouncing ball over the top for Comstock deflected off of her leg and into the oncoming path of Pulley who passed it into the net past Blanton to level things back up at 1-1.

“I think it might’ve woken ‘em up,” Williams said about conceding first. “We had a lot of shots on goal in the first half, we just couldn’t make anything happen and their goalkeeper was fantastic. I think when they scored, it kind of woke our girls up like ‘we’ve gotta turn it on,’ and they did.”

Turn it on they sure did. Emboldened by finally breaking the seal, the hosts’ began to assert themselves on the game. In the 53rd minute, Ellie Chapa found space on the right wing to whip in a tantalizing ball to the penalty area, but Martin put the bouncing ball just over the crossbar.

In the 55th minute, Cascade won a free kick at the very top of the 18-yard box, and after Winnett’s attempt on goal was initially saved but then momentarily spilled, Pulley, who was rushing in for a potential rebound, made contact with Blanton despite pulling up at the last second. After a quick discussion with his assistant, the referee somehow gave a yellow card to Sophie Ray instead despite Ray never stepping foot into the box in the first place. 

In the 58th minute, the Lady Champs finally found that second goal thanks to a screamer from Kaylee Martin. Receiving the ball outside of the box down the left channel, she made a brilliant cut inside onto her right foot and unleashed an attempt on goal that soared over Blanton’s fingertips and settled into the back of the net to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. 

Kaylee Martin (9) scored the go-ahead goal on Tuesday.

Despite having the lead for the first time all game, Cascade continued to push for the backbreaking third goal, and they eventually found the breakthrough 10 minutes later. 

In the 68th minute, Jesse Mangrum gave away a penalty trying to hold off Pulley in the box, and up stepped freshman Olivia Winnett. Winnett calmly deposited the ball into the bottom right corner to put the game away for good and send the Lady Champs into both the District 9-A Championship Game and the Region 5-A tournament with a 3-1 win. 

Lexi Comstock, Winnett, and Martin are all freshmen, but they have played an instrumental role in Cascade’s success this season.

“We’ve come to depend on ‘em, and we feel like they’ve really stepped up,” Williams said postgame. “It’s a hard transition to be a freshman and come to the speed of a high school game, but they just have really transitioned well and served our team. They’ve done some amazing things this year as freshmen.”

Community’s season ends at 3-6-1 (1-5).

Cascade improves to 10-2-1 (8-0) and advances to host the Huntland Hornets in the District 9-A Championship Game on Thursday night under the lights at 6:00 p.m. on the football field.